Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-atrial-specific cardiomyocytes and atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Patient-specific human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived atrial cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-aCMs) may be produced, genome-edited, and differentiated into multiple cell types for regenerative medicine, disease modeling, drug testing, toxicity screening, and three-dimensional tissue fabrication. There is presently no complete model of atrial fibrillation (AF) available for studying human pharmacological responses and evaluating the toxicity of potential medication candidates. It has been demonstrated that hiPSC-aCMs can replicate the electrophysiological disease phenotype and genotype of AF. The hiPSC-aCMs, however, are immature and do not reflect the maturity of aCMs in the native myocardium. Numerous laboratories utilize a variety of methodologies and procedures to improve and promote aCM maturation, including electrical stimulation, culture duration, biophysical signals, and changes in metabolic variables. This review covers the current methods being explored for use in the maturation of patient-specific hiPSC-aCMs and their application towards a personalized approach to the pharmacologic therapy of AF.

Merits of hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes for In Vitro Research and Testing Drug Toxicity

“…Recently, iPSCs have been applied in various medication study fields, including tissue engineering of cell regeneration [ 6 , 7 ], disease models [ 8 , 9 , 10 ], and drug screening [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. However, drug screening studies have focused on toxicity or clinical side effects, not on the pharmacological mechanism [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Human-induced pluripotent-stem-cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) possess characteristics similar to those of primary human cardiomyocytes [ 20 , 21 ].…”